The Whole Show

abstract: This first-person account tells the story of one woman's adoptive family history in the context of 1950s US adoption policies and her search for and discovery of her birthmother in the 1970s. The essay refracts the author's journey through the lenses of feminist psychology, Jewish identity, and culture. It raises questions about identity, secrets and their discovery, and belonging, and asks how children construct a sense of self from the materials within their families and communities and the stories they've been told.